British retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) is still managing the repercussions from a recent large scale cyber attack. Unfortunately, this breach has brought its online services to a halt, leaving customers unable to shop as they normally would. Stuart Machin, Chief Executive of M&S, said he was sorry for the disruption. He added that he was “deeply disappointed” for the “serious disruption” to services. The attack coincides with the arrival of warmer weather. That’s because this is the time of year when consumers are most excited to purchase a new wardrobe of summer apparel.
The cyber attack has caused an existential crisis for the retailer. Each day, an average of £3.8 million is spent on clothing and home products through its websites and apps. Online transactions already account for at least a third of M&S’s sales in these perishable categories, driving the disruption deeper still. Whatever it is, customers are clearly eager to get back to updating their wardrobes. As they’ve gone to use the service, service interruptions have made for aggravating experiences.
Machin also avoided giving a date for when normal business would return, leaving thousands of customers in limbo. The muddled messaging about how these issues will be resolved has created an atmosphere of uncertainty among consumers and industry leaders.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said retailers have been hit by a rising tide of cyber attacks. She finds these threats increasingly preventable and outrageous. She really focused in on how those challenges impact super-digital businesses. Unfortunately, these attacks put the very future of my online shopping and the businesses that power it at risk, crippling essential services such as payment processing and inventory management.
“Highly digital businesses, not just from an online shopping point of view but retailers have lots of systems – payments systems, stock systems.” – Helen Dickinson
The impact of such attacks goes far beyond service interruptions. They pose deep worries for users and companies doing work in a much more digital, data-driven environment. As M&S continues to navigate the ramifications of this incident, it faces pressure to restore services and reassure its customer base.